The Dark Knight »

I just got back from watching The Dark Knight. There is no onomatopoeia sufficient enough to express how much this film kicked ass. I had no idea you could even do that with a pencil! Yes, if you’re a Batman fan you must go see this.

After the film, I was thinking about how many people already know the Batman universe inside and out and how that is akin to the Greeks back in the day who knew the story of the Iliad and Odyssey inside and out. The bards, or Hollywood people, if they’re sharp, know how to spin the yarn to play off the fact that the audience already knows certain details. In this case it’s all about Gotham’s sweetheart Harvey Dent. Yes, we know what happens to Harvey, but no amount of foreknowledge ruins the telling of his tragic story. It was spectacular to see Harvey Dent’s past and future unveiled before our eyes in such a simple yet descriptive way. I’m not going to ruin it for anyone, but I will say, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Batman is the mythic hero for our culture just as Achilles or Perseus was for the Greeks. And just like the Greeks, we will always be entertained no matter how many times we hear it: the epic conflict between Batman and the Joker, or the tragic fall of Gotham’s D.A. Harvey Dent.

Anyway, go see this movie.

el jo